TOPICS APPROPRIATE FOR SURVEY RESEARCH

Survey may be used for discriptive, explanatory, and

exploratory purpose. They are chiefly used in studies that have
individual people as the units of analysis. Although this methode
can be used for other units of analysis, such as groups or
interacions,

some

individual

persont

must

serve

as

renspondents or informants. Thus, we could undertake a survey

in which divorces were the unit of analysis, but we would need to
administer the survey questionner to the participants in the
divorces (or to some other informants).
Survey research is probably the best method available to
the social researcher who is interested in collecting original data
for describing a population too large to observe directly. Careful
probability sampling provides a group of respondents whose
characteristics may be taken to reflect those of the large
population and carafully constructed standarized questionnaires
provide data in the same form from all respondents.
The general attitude toward public opinion research is
further complicated by scientifically unsound surveys that
nonethelles capture peoples attantion because of the topics they
cover and/or their findings.
reports

on

human

sexuality.

A good example is the hite

While

enjoying

considerable

attention in the popular press. Shere hite was roundly criticized

by the research community for her data-collection methods. For
example, a 1987 Hite report was based on questionnaires
completedby women around the country-but which women? Hite
reported that she distributed some 100.000 questionnaires
trough various organization, an around 4.500 were returned.
GUIDELINES FOR ASKING QUESTIONS
In social research, variables are often operationalized when
researchers ask people question as a way of getting data for
analysis and interpretation. Sometimes the questions are asked

by an interviewer, somrtimes they are written down and given to

respondents for completion. In other cases, several general
guidelines can help researchers frame and ask questions that
serve as exellent oprationallization of variables while avoiding pit
falls that can result in useless or even misleading information.
Survey include the use of a questionnaire an instrument
specifically designed to elicit inmation that will be useful for
anlysis. Although some of the specific points to follow are more
appropriate to structured questionnaires than to the more open
ended questionnaires used in qualitative, in depth inteviewing,
the underlying logic is valuable whenever we ask people question
in orde to gather data.
Items in a questionnaire should follow several guidelines: 1
the form of the items should be appropriate to the project. 2 the
items must be clear and precise . 3 the items should ask only
about one thing. 4 respondent must be competent to answer the
item. 5 respondent must be willing to answer the item. 6
questions should be relelevant to the respondent. 7 items should
ordinarily be short. 8 negative terms should be avoided so as not
to confuse respondents. 9 the item should be worded to avoid
biasing respont.
QUESTIONNAIRE CONSTRUCTION
Questionnaires are used in connection with many modes of
observation

in

social

research.

Although

structured

questionnaires are essential to and most directly associated with

survey research, they are also widely used in experiments, field
research, and other data-collection activities. For this reason,
questionnaire construction can be an important practical skill for
researchers. As we discuss the established techniques for
contructing questionnaires, lets begin with some issues of
questionnaire format.

a. The format of a questionnaire can influence the quality of

data colected
b. A clear format for contingency questions is nicessary to
ensure that the respondents answer all the questions
intended for them
c. The matrix question is an efficient format for presenting
several items sharing the same response catagories
d. The order items is a questionnaire can influence the
responses given
e. Clear istructions are important for getting appropriate
responses in a questionnaire
f. Questionnaires should be

prestested

before

being

administared to the study sample

g. Questionnaires may be administered in three basic ways:
through self-administered questionnaires, face to face
interviews, or telephone surveys.
SELF-ADMINISTERED QUESTIONNAIRES
So far weve discussed how to formulate question and how
to design effective questionnaires. As important as these tasks
are, the labor will be wasted unless the questionnaire produces
useful data wich means that respondents actually complete the
questionnaires.
The most common form of self-administered questionnaire
is the mail survey. However, there are several other techniques
that are often used as well. At times, it may be appropriate to
administer a questionnaire to group of respondents gathered at
the same place at the same time. A survey of students taking
introductory psychology might be conducted in this manner
during class. High school of students might be suveyed during
homeroom period.
It s generally advisable to plan follow-up mailings in the
case

of

self-administered

questionnaires,

sending

new

questionnaires to those respondents who fail to respond to the

initial appeal. Properly monitoring questionnaire returns will

provide a good guide to when a follow up mailing is appropriate.
INTERVIEW SURVEYS
The interview is an alternative method collecting survey
data. Rather than asking respondents to read questionnaires and
enter their own answers, researchers send interviewers to ask
the question orally and record respondents answers. Interviewing
is typically done in a face to face encounter, but telephone
interviewing, dicussed in the next section, folows most of
thesame guidelines. Most interview surveys require more than
one interviewer, although you might undertake a small scale
interview survey yourself. Portions of this section will discuss
methods for training and supervising a staff of interviewers
assisting you with a survey.
TELEPHONE SURVEYS
For years telephone surveys had a rather bad reputation
among professional researchers. Telephone surveys are limited
by definition to people who have telephones. A related sampling
problem involved unlisted numbers. Telephone survey offer many
advantages that underline the growing popularity of this method.
Probably the greatest advantages are money and time, in that
order. Interviewing by telephone, you can dress any way you
please without affecting the answer respondents give. And
sometime respondents will be more honest in giving socially
dissaproved answer if they dont have to look you in the eye.
Interviewers can communicate a lot about themself over
the phone, however, even thouh they cant be seen. For
example, researchers worry about the impact of an interviewers
name and debate the ethics of having all interviewers use bland
stage name such as Smith or Jones. Telephone surveys can
allow greater control over data collection if several interviewers
are engaged in the project. If all the interviewers are calling from

research office., they can get clarification from the person in

charge. Whenever problems occur, as they inevitably do. Alone in
the boondocks, an interviewer may have to wings it between
weekly visits with the interviewing supervisor.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND SURVEY RESEARCH
New technologies offer additional opportunities for social
researchers. They include various kind of computer-assisted data
collection and analisys as well as the chance to conduct surveys
by fax or over the internet. The latter two methods, however,
must be used with caution because respondents many not be
representative of the intended population.
COMPARISON OF THE DIFFERENT SURVEY METHODS
a. The advantages of a self-administered questionnaire over
an interview survey are economy, speed, lack of interview
bias, and the possibility of anonymity and privacy to
encourage candid responses on sensitive issues.
b. The advantages of an interview survey over a selfadministered
question,

questionnaire

generally

higher

are

fewer

return

misunderstood

rates

and

greater

flexibility in terms of sampling and special observation.

c. The principal advantages oftelephone surveys over face to
face interviews are the saving in cost and time. Telephone
interviewers have more safety than in person interviewers
do, and they may have a smaller effect on the interview
itself.
d. Online

surveys

have

many

of

the

strengths

and

weaknesess of mail survey. Although they are cheaper to

conduct, ensuring that respondents represents a more
general population can be difficult.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF SURVEY RESEARCH
Regardless of the spesific method use, surveys like other
modes of observation in social research have special strength

and weaknesses. You should keep this mind when determining

whether a survey is appropriate for your research goals.
Survey

are

particularly

useful

in

describing

the

characteristics of a large population. Is one sense, surveys are

flexible. Many question can be asked aon a given topic, giving
you considerable flexibility in your analyses. Standardized
questionnaires

have

an

important

strength

in

regrad

to

measurement generally. Earlier chapters have discussed the

ambiguous nature of most concepts.
Survey research has several weaknesses; it is somewhat
artificial, potentially superficial, and relatively inflexibel. Using
survey to gain a full sense of social process in their natural
settings is difficult. In general, survey research in comparatively
weak on validity and strong on reliability.
SECONDARY ANALYSIS
Secendary analysis is a form of research in which the data
collected and processed by one researcher are reanalyzed often
for a different pupose by another. This is especially appropriate in
the case of survey data. Data archives are repositories or
libraries for the storage and distribution of data for secondary
analysis.